Minibus Service to Rochester

Imagine not having to rely on friends and family for running your errands!

The North Bus is a transportation service for the residents of New Durham, Middleton, Farmington, Milton, Wakefield and Brookfield. The once-a-week service provides access to pharmacies and supermarkets in the Rochester area. The elderly and disabled are given priority.

Riders are picked up at their homes by a friendly volunteer driver in a COAST minibus. The minibus is equipped with a wheelchair lift and can take up to two individuals who are in wheelchairs. It is expected that 10-12 ambulatory persons will be able to ride the bus. No pets are allowed, but service animals are permitted.

Each rider is allowed up to two shopping bags and the bags must be able to be safely stowed under the seat or beside the wheelchair.

Making a Reservation

Call 1-855-736-4287 (toll free) from 9am - 3pm to schedule your ride

Reservations should be made 2 days before your trip and can be made up to 2 weeks in advance

COAST will call you back the day before your ride to tell you the pick-up time

The North Bus will pick you up at the street in front of your residence

Destinations

The North Bus brings riders to grocery stores, pharmacies, shopping, and services in Rochester. We are only able to visit those destinations that allow for safe access and parking for the minibus. Currently, we bring riders to the following locations:

Ben Franklin Crafts, 60 Wakefield Street

Care Pharmacy, 161 South Main Street

COAST Bus Stops

Route 2 (at the Lilac Mall)

Route 6 (at the Market Basket at 96 Milton Road)

CVS, 301 North Main Street

Fuller Dry Cleaners*, 224 North Main Street

Globe Plaza, 306 North Main Street (including Family Dollar and other shops)

Hannaford, 290 North Main Street (near Home Depot)

Hannaford, 26 Lilac Mall

Lago's Lone Oak, 175 Milton Road

Lilac Mall (including Dollar Tree, Macy's and other shops)

Market Basket, 96 Milton Road

NH Circuit Court, North Main Street (riders are dropped off at the bus stop in front of the former Foster's building)

Rite Aid, 105 Milton Road

Rite Aid*, 829 NH 11, Farmington

Rochester Community Center, 150 Wakefield Street (including the Bureau of Elderly and Adult Services, the Divison of Children, Youth and Families, the Familty Justice Center, and Workplace Success)

Salvation Army Thrift Store, 25 Signal Street

Signal Street Laboratory*, 12 Signal Street, Suite A

Sunset Village Laundromat*, 199 Milton Road

US Post Office, 20 Allen Street

Walmart, 116 Farmington Road

*restrictions apply

Fare

$5.00 round trip or $2.50 each way

Exact fare is required, as drivers cannot make change or accept checks or credit cards

Volunteer

Neighbors helping neighbors

The key to the success of this project is the volunteers who drive the bus. Our volunteers each drive the North Bus once or twice a month and we couldn't provide this service without them. Please consider joining their ranks and becoming one of our drivers. For more information on volunteering, please call Jeff Donald at (603) 743-577 x.120.

Volunteer Drivers are screened by COAST and are trained to operate the minibus safely and reliably.

About The Community Rides

The Community Rides is the regional program to improve community transportation. The Community Rides is a program of ACT, the Alliance for Community Transportation. COAST, a long-standing member of this advisory group, was selected to implement and/or coordinate these transportation services. The North Bus is the first project under the banner of the Community Rides.

Launched in April 2011, the North Bus was the first project to be implemented under this program. The North Bus was conceived to provide transportation services to the disabled and elderly persons in rural communities north of Rochester where there are no other transportation resources available. The communities chosen for this pilot project rank amongst the highest in the region for unmet transportation needs for the elderly and disabled; in these communities, the elderly and disabled populations are 23-25% of the total population.

In concert with the concerns of the private funders supporting ACT’s efforts (the Endowment for Health and the United Way of the Greater Seacoast) this pilot project was designed to provide weekly access to basic nutrition and prescription drugs for the rural disabled and elderly who have no other transportation options available. It is hoped that future efforts may more directly address transportation needs for medical purposes.